Avatar: Rising Sun
by mayemerald9
Summary: Lena has been captured by our favorite Fire Nation menace- with sideburns, anyway- and is suddenly and mysteriously freed by a Spirit. What will she discover about the Spirit? How will she herself change? I'm no good at summaries, the story is better than it sounds. One-shot


**(A/N) I wrote this story about a year ago, and I just now got a FF account, so I figured it would be the first thing I shared. This takes place in season one, some time before the Hei Bai forest gets destroyed. Please give feedback, I definitely could use the advice. Also, italics means she is dreaming.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender or any of its characters. If they were mine, Lena and people like her would exist. **

The blindfold was pulled around my face, the sack thrown over my head. The sack's rough material scratched my cheeks, and made tears come to the corners of my eyes. I held them in though; No need to show them how much it actually hurt.  
With my last glimpse of light, I saw my captor's face, scowling down at me. Even with only a second to look, I took in every detail; He had a wide face, not quite chubby, but not at all skinny, a small bun on the top of his head, as all men have, brown hair, nothing more, and nothing less, with massive sideburns, and black eyes. His allies would call them a brown color, but they were cold, no kindness or life in them at all. They were as black as night to me.  
They call him Zhao, Admiral Zhao of the Fire Nation.  
My name is Lena. I used to live in a village that was very much inland in the Earth Kingdom. The Fire Nation recently stormed my village, burning everything to the ground. I was the only prisoner. Everyone in my village… friends, family, even the people I didn't know… all gone.  
The guards of my prison-like box told me that I was to be shipped off to the fire nation to be interrogated. They also said, "You'd better enjoy this luxury while you can kid, 'cause the conditions on the ship will be much worse." It took a lot of willpower to keep myself from punching him on the spot.  
Not a day would go by in my imprisonment when the faces of my loved ones wouldn't haunt me. Not a day would go by when I wouldn't think about what I could have done to save someone else. Not a day would go by when I didn't have to hold in my tears.  
Every once in a while, the guards remove my sac and blindfold to feed me spoiled bread and dirty water. It is those times I enjoy most of this trip, if you could call it even slightly enjoyable. I get to see the scenery change around me, the tall birch trees of my village changing to the wide majestic oak trees of wherever we are now, the small rabbit-turtles changing to the giant platypus-bears.  
This particular day, as I was slowly munching on my moldy cheese, (a rare treat) I noticed a black figure dart through the forest beside me. A spiraling pit of fear appeared in my stomach, but disappeared just as quickly. I saw it again, but this time, it was on the other side of the path. Again, in the tree tops, this time with a streak of blue. When my food was finished, I waited for the return of my dreaded sac, but it never came. I tensed up, waiting for the sounds of guard's footsteps, but the only sound that came was the noise that is made when you draw a sword from its sheath. I remained still, not daring to turn around for fear of what I might see. I heard the sounds of battle, and the thumps of bodies hitting the ground. Screams of rage, blasts of fire, the clang of sword vs. firebender, all of those words put into sounds.  
All was quiet, but I was still frozen. A hand grabbed my shoulder, and I tried to keep myself from screaming. I slowly turned around, not at all prepared for what I was about to see. A tall skinny figure, wearing all black except for its face stood before me. Its face was blue, with white fangs and paint marks. The Blue Spirit.

* * *

The Blue Spirit. This spirit is a legend in our village, always stealing food from the rich people who are passing through. He held out his hand as if wanting to help me stand. I reluctantly took it, using it to support my wobbly feet. I'd almost never stood while I had been captured. I took this moment to look at the scene around me, and I strangely wasn't at all surprised. All of the soldiers lay on the ground, unconscious, not dead, with scorch marks everywhere. Helmets were askew, and metal spears were stacked in a pile, burning like firewood.  
Zhao was hanging upside-down from a tree branch. I walked over to him and punched him in the jaw, making him spin around. I made to do so again, all of the rage and grief of my imprisonment suddenly coming to me. My fist was above my head, ready to punch him again when the spirit grabbed it. Holding my fist in the air, he stared at me intently. Even with the never changing eerie smile, he looked at me as if to say that I should get moving.  
I looked closer at the spirit, noticing that he didn't look that old. He didn't look much older than a teenager. He was definitely a boy though, no doubt about that. I looked into his eyes, and I saw that he indeed was wearing a mask.  
He had reddish brown eyes, like the last licks of a flame before it dies, but his were bright. He saw me staring and turned away, but not before pointing to the east, the woods. He then leapt into the forest, fading into the leaves.  
As the spirit disappeared, I felt someone else's eyes on me. I swiftly turned around, just in time to see another flash of black. Puzzling over it for only a moment, I then turned to the guards.  
Being a sensible person, I searched the guards for supplies before leaving. I found rope, keys to my cage, five chicken legs, two water pouches, and my sac. No matter how dreaded the thing might be, it could still be useful. I hauled all of the guards' weapons into my cage and locked them in, and I used the rope to tie the hands and feet of the guards together. Finally, I used my blindfold to gag Zhao, using it to hold a piece of moldy cheese in his mouth. I then took to the woods, covering as much ground as I could, as quietly as possible.  
I was mostly alone, except for a few animals of varying types. I ran quietly, which you think wouldn't be possible in heavy woods, but the path I was running on seemed to be made just for that purpose. After covering some ground, I stopped to look at the scenery. There were small red and white mushrooms on the forest floor, peeking out from the shadows of trees. I suddenly remembered my father taking me to the market when I was a little girl, and me never leaving the safety of his shadow as he bartered with the tall intimidating shop owners and the crazy cabbage man. I slumped onto the stump of a tree, using most of my strength to keep the tears from spilling out like waterfalls.  
"No…" I said to myself. "Sitting around crying won't do any good. I've got to do something. I'll… I'll find that spirit! He'll help me!" I said, blowing away my grief. I took to a tree to see where I was. The forest went on for miles, green leaves going out to the horizon. I sat down again, not knowing where to start looking. My father always told me that the spirit would take food from wealthy travelers and disappear. When the victim had left, the spirit would then leave the food in the houses of the poor and starving. He had been a hero in my village, and then one day he'd disappeared with the food and never returned. Then there he was, right in front of me. The spirit just stood there, and then he turned around and walked away. I struggled with making a decision, trying to figure out whether this sign was good or bad.  
"The Blue Spirit can always be trusted, Lena. He always does things for the benefit of others," a voice rang in my head. It was my fathers. Knowing it was all right. I followed the spirit.  
The sun had set, and I could barely make out the rough outline of the spirit. I walked after him for what seemed like hours when he just disappeared, the last trace of his eerie smile vanishing. Where I could have sworn he was a moment before, I saw the comforting glow of a camp fire. I climbed the tree next to me, all the way to the top. I heard the crackle of snapping twigs, and I looked down. I saw an old man, plump and jolly looking. My ears were pounding too hard to hear what, but the man appeared to be shouting something. When the thumping in my ears receded, I was able to make out what the man was saying.  
"Zuko!" He shouted. "Zuko! Where have you gone to this time?"  
Zuko... Now why did that name ring a bell?  
To my left, I heard more twigs snapping, and I saw a boy in a green outfit leaning down by a tree. He appeared to be hastily stuffing something into the tree, but I couldn't be sure. When he was done, he hurried over to the man, not bothering to be quiet. When the old man heard the snapping of twigs, his face flooded with relief. He reached out to hug the boy, but he did not return it.  
"Uncle, you know you shouldn't be shouting for me. What if someone heard you?" the boy said angrily. I  
"I was just worried Zuko, that's all." the man replied. Zuko sighed, sitting on the tree root with his uncle. I watched for a moment longer before slowly climbing down from the top of the tree. A couple times I had to freeze, because Zuko would suddenly snap his head in my direction. Then his uncle would ask what was wrong, and Zuko would seem to forget about me.  
Zuko... Where had I heard that name before?!  
I was half way down the tree when I remembered; in school I had learned about the Fire Nation royal family. There was Fire Lord Ozai, Princess Azula, the missing Queen Ursa, and the banished Prince Zuko.  
Too late to change my mind, I jumped from the remaining branches of the tree.

* * *

The old man looked extremely surprised when I appeared, but Zuko just went on and sipped his tea. The man turned to him, scowling slightly, but in a less angry way than a curious one.  
I bowed respectfully, not knowing what else to do, and said,  
"So the banished Prince Zuko is hiding out in the Earth Kingdom woods. Who would have guessed it?" Zuko stayed calm, which made his uncle very confused.  
"Zuko, how do you know this girl?" The old man said. He was shifting his gaze from me to Zuko. Zuko looked at him and calmly said,  
"And how do you know that I know her?"  
"Because you aren't attempting to burn her to the ground," The man said calmly. That comment made me flinch.  
"She wa-"  
"She is right here, and can speak for herself. She was captured by Admiral Zhao, and Zuko was kind enough to rescue me. She also has a name by the way, and it happens to be Lena. Just so you know," I interrupted coldly. Zuko seemed to be attempting to hide his frustration, but it looked like he hadn't had much practice.  
"I think I'm starting to understand things," the old man said. He then turned to me and said, "I am Iroh, by the way, Zuko's uncle." Iroh then made another pot of tea, lighting the fire with his finger. I looked at my own hands, feeling jealous of him.  
"Can't you bend? I-" Zuko began.  
"No," I cut him off yet again, "I can't bend. No one in my village could." Tears began unwillingly pouring out of my eyes for the first time in weeks. Iroh passed me another cup of tea, and I sipped it gratefully.  
"Oh," Zuko said, "Everyone in my family could firebend except for my mother." I could tell that this was a frustrating subject for him, so I didn't press foreword.  
Iroh looked to the sky, pointing out various constellations until we heard him let out a tremendous snore. Zuko let a sigh escape him, apologizing for his uncle's volume. In the soft moonlight, I studied his face, taking in every detail. I do this to all my friends so that I will never forget them. This is probably why my old friends' faces constantly haunt me.  
His eyes seemed dimmer at night though that might have just been the lighting. His right eye was scarred badly, with a burn mark shaped like a flame. The burned eye was slightly squinted, though I suppose it would be.  
Before I could stop myself I blurt out,  
"How did you get your scar?" Zuko flinched like I just stabbed him, and he turned away. Quietly and cautiously he replied,  
"I once spoke out of turn, and my father challenged my to an agni-kai, a kind of fire bending duel. I thought I was going against someone else, but before I could protest..." his words broke off.  
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked," I said hastily.  
"It's alright. But what happened to you? Why were you locked up?"  
"The Fire Nation invaded my village, and I was the only prisoner. The guards told me that I was going to be interrogated personally by the Fire Lord himself."  
Zuko turned towards the fire, thinking.  
"My father never takes prisoners unless there is something special about them, and the same thing goes for Zhao."  
"But what's so special about me? I'm just a normal girl..."  
"I don't know, but you should get some sleep. Whatever the reason, Zhao will be hunting for you, and you'll need some rest. Oh, and just so you know, it was me who rescued you, not the Blue Spirit. The Blue Spirit and I have no connection whatsoever, if you know what I mean," Zuko said. His eyes seemed to get darker as he said it.  
"I understand. Goodnight," I replied softly. It was only then that I realized just how tired I really was. I lay down on my bed of leaves and glanced at Zuko's face, red in the fire, before I'd dropped off to sleep.

* * *

_There were three Zuko's, in three different outfits, with three different hairstyles, in three different places. I could tell they were all him because of his scar, and because of his eyes. They were both the same, but everything else was completely different. The first on was the way he looked now with a ponytail. He was in a different place though, with snow pouring down around him on all sides, cracking ice beneath his feet. _  
_The second Zuko had a thin layer of hair. He was wearing a green robe like the one he wore now, but he was traveling alone on an ostrich horse._  
_The third Zuko had longer wispy hair, and he was wearing a red Fire Nation robe. He was in a temple, talking to someone that I couldn't see. _  
_Then, all three of the Zuko's became one, and he sent a ball of raging dragon fire straight towards me. The heat of the fire was unbearable, the tears pouring out of my eyes._  
_I snapped awake, sweat and tears spilling down my face. Zuko was gone, and Iroh was fast asleep._

* * *

Strangely there was a pot of tea cooking over the fire. I went behind the camp and plucked some red berries from a bush, drops of dew still moist upon the berry's groove-like seeds. I broke open one of the berries and poured its juice into the tea, flavoring it to a familiar taste.  
After drinking tea and eating berries, I set off to explore. I traveled for who knows how long, watching the scenery change around me. The trees stayed the same of course, but the flowers were beautiful. There were red ones, blue ones, and white ones, but the most beautiful flowers of all were shining golden ones that had a pinkish hue around the edges, and the petals spread out like little suns. I picked some of those flowers, and braided them into my hair. I pulled the braid to one side of my face, and I set off again.  
Because nobody in my village could bend, everyone was expected to learn how to hunt. I'm a natural, and I could make an effective hunting spear with a twig and a pebble. It wasn't long before I'd made a spear, and had killed two fox-deer and a sparrow-hawk. As I was sharpening my spear, I heard noises behind me. I heard the rustling of leaves, like someone was in the trees behind me. I spun around in one sharp motion, and my spear was at the throat of my apprehender. His hands were aflame, his eyes wide with surprise. Zuko.  
I dropped my spear, and he extinguished his hands. We began mumbling apologies, and both of our faces were red.  
"Um, we need to refill the water pouches. Uncle uses all of the water for tea, so we have to refill it almost daily," Zuko said. "There's a lake to the west of here, would you like to help?" he asked awkwardly.  
"Uh, sure," I said slowly. I grabbed the pouch that I'd taken with me, and we set off towards the lake. Lake… water… it would all be okay as long as I didn't get near the water.  
We began to see lots of badger-frogs, so I knew that we were getting close. We reached the lake just as the sun was setting, making orange light reflect off the sparkling blue green water. Everything in the background seemed to sigh as the wind blew off the water towards us. I passed Zuko my water pouches and sat by a rock as he filled them up. The smell of the lake water was nauseating, and I couldn't take my eyes off the water, its fearful beauty hypnotizing me.  
My vision went black as I remembered. I was three, and I was hiding in the corner of my house. The wind was rocking my village, the noises were like monsters in my tiny toddler mind. My Opa was singing to me, trying to cheer me up. My father was pacing by the door, checking the window every few seconds. He shouted something about someone being outside, and disappeared through the door. Opa pleaded for him not to go, but he'd already left. That's when the flood came in. The water swirled around all the houses, climbing high to the top of the windows, leaking in through the cracks in the wood. My father was never seen again.  
My vision returned, my eyes stinging. I was underwater. I screamed, sinking deeper into the lake. I thrashed my arms and kicked out my legs, but to no avail. I stopped fighting, and I sank like a rock. As my vision began fading to black, my last bubbles of air floating to the surface of the water, I saw two people diving into the water towards me.

* * *

I awoke on a bed of leaves, the smell of deer-fox meat cooking over a fire. I leaned foreword, looking around, but regretted instantly. There was a pain, not just in my chest, but in my lungs and ribcage. I groaned, leaning back onto my pile of leaves. I looked around and saw Zuko heating up the fire. He saw that I'd woken up, and put some of the meat into a bowl. His lips were moving, but his words turned to dust in my mind. He poured some soup from the bowl into my mouth, and it was only a few seconds after I'd swallowed before I passed out again.

* * *

_I was at a temple, the same one from my dream about Zuko. I looked around me at the abandoned place, dust covering everywhere it could reach. The wind kicked up, and the temple was like new again. There were children running everywhere, their orange-yellow robes billowing out behind them. Women with long black hair were walking about, and some of them were riding sky bison. The chatter of all of the air nomads continued, but when I took a step foreword, they all stopped moving. Every one of them was turned towards me with sad, pleading looks on their faces. One of the women stepped foreword and bowed to me, saying,_  
_"Do the right thing." Then they all blew away, like dust in the wind._

* * *

When I woke up, it was daytime. My vision was cloudy, but I thought that I'd seen another man sitting next to Zuko, under the shade of a tree. I fell asleep again, and when I woke up, the other man was gone.

* * *

_I was at my house at my old village, talking to my Oba. She told me that she loved me, but that she had to move on. She then got on her ostrich horse and rode away, leaving the image of her sad fire like eyes forever implanted into my mind._  
_The place where I was standing turned to ashes, as did everything around me. The sky, sunny before, was now dark, clouds covering the sun. The scent of burning firewood came to mind my village once again disappeared before my eyes. All of the people who were there melted into piles of ash. From those piles, the villagers tried to rise, to make themselves whole again, but the sudden winds kept blowing them down again. I ran to the ashes, intending to help them._

* * *

I snapped awake, covered in a thick layer of sweat. The water from my lungs was gone, so I could move with only minor pain. I felt almost normal. Zuko wasn't there, so I climbed a tree to see where I was. I wasn't that far from the camp, so I hiked back there. When I arrived, it sounded like Iroh was having a chat with someone, but when I stepped out of the shadows, no one else was there. Iroh held a pot of tea out to me when he saw me.  
"Ah, so the fish out of water walks," he laughs cheerily. He must not have realized just what I feel about water.  
"Yes, and not only does the fish walk, she talks, sleeps, sings, drinks tea, and is easily offended," I said slowly. The only reaction that got out of Iroh was a hearty laugh.  
"With all you have been through, you have the right to be. Your father dying in a flood, it is quite easy to understand your feelings." he said. My face went white, my eyes dilating to the size of a pin.  
"How… How did you…" I stuttered.  
"The wind speaks secrets, and I am one of the few who listens. Your father was a brave man, and he still is. Now stop being like Zuko, and have some tea!" he said, ending the moment. I accepted the tea, and I went to pick some more berries. Thinking about what Iroh said, I climbed to the top of the tree, crossed my legs, and closed my eyes. As the wind rustled the leaves around me, rocking the Y branch I sat on, I listened. The wind was silent, as wind normally is. When I was about to give up, I felt a pang of pain in my forehead. My mind raced, and it landed in the forest, not far to the north of us. Zhao and his men were there, burning everything in his path to piles of ashes.  
Practically leaping from the top of the tree, I shouted at Iroh to gather his things.  
"Iroh, quickly. Do you know where Zuko went?" I said, shaking him.  
"Most of this week he has been spying on Zhao. Whatever you saw, Zuko has seen it as well. He will not be far behind you," Iroh replied.  
"Run, Iroh. Go as far away from here as you can. Now!" I shouted.  
"Where will you be?" he asked. "Ah, why bother asking? You are going with Zuko, after Zhao. You two have a lot in common, you know. You can both be impatient and rash, but in a good way," he said, laughing quietly. And just like that, he disappeared into the forest behind me.  
The ashes had begun to fall from the sky, like black snow, and I made a mad dash north. Running at top speed, I was suddenly lifted off my feet, and flipped into the trees above me.

* * *

Surprised, I flung my fists in every direction, at some point making a connection with my captor's face.  
"Ow!" he shouted. Once again, it was Zuko. He rubbed his jaw, saying, "Now I'm going to have a scar there too."  
"Warn me next time, and it probably won't happen. Probably," I replied. "So, Zhao?"  
"Yes. He knows that you're in this forest, and he won't stop until he finds you."  
"I know," I reply. My thoughts return to listening to the wind. When my mind was racing to Zhao, I'd seen a flash of something, only for a fraction of a second, but it looked important. "You hold him back as long as you can, there's something I need to look at." He nodded and disappeared. I headed west. As the smells of smoke finally receded, I reached my destination. It was a circle of wooden bears, bowing before the tallest bear, which was standing in the center of the circle. I stood in front of the tallest bear and waited. It was only a few minutes before the real bear showed up, two times as tall as its statue. The panda bear came out of the shadows, sniffing the air around it. It growled at me, sensing my presence. I slowly walked foreword, holding my hand out in front of me. The panda snapped its head towards me, its beady eyes boring into my soul. I kept calm, slowly walking foreword. I softly placed my hand on the panda's snout, feeling the warmth emanating from its body. My eyes flashed, and I saw the story of this spirit. Hei Bai, guardian of this forest. This forest was his home, and like mine, Zhao was burning it to the ground. I couldn't let that happen. I ran around to Hei-Bai's side, and I jumped on his back. He turned his head towards me and transformed into his hostile form, a tall monster with an extra pair of arms, teeth like razors, and a yin-yang styled coloring to its skin.

* * *

He ran, with me on his shoulder, to where Zhao and his men were burning everything. Zuko was wearing his Blue Spirit mask, and was holding off Zhao's troops. Zhao himself was ordering everybody around, waving using one hand to shoot balls of fire at Zuko, and using the other one to burn the forest in front of him. Hei Bai lifted Zhao up in his smaller hands, roared in his face, and flung him to the ground. I leaped from Hei Bai's shoulder, landing on top of Zhao. I grabbed a large, singed stick from the ground beside me, and starting pounding Zhao with it. Tears spilled from my eyes as I remembered all of the people from my village. Every soul, every life that was lost, I channeled them as I beat Zhao. My eyes began to glow, and when I spoke, all of the people Zhao has ever killed spoke with me.  
"Zhao. You deserve more than what we have given you today, but you will later pay your dues. We let you live for now," I said. My eyes returned to their normal green, and the spirits of those Zhao wronged left my body. "How..?" I asked weakly. Then I turned to Zuko, who had removed his mask and was gaping at me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hei Bai then turn towards the rest of the troops. I grabbed Zuko and pulled him behind Hei Bai as I anticipated his attack. The spirit drew in breath, and when he opened his mouth, a great burst of blue energy came blasting out. All of the Fire Nation troops were thoroughly singed, and they crumpled to the ground.  
Though we had won, Hei Bai still did not revert to his peaceful form. I stepped foreword to calm him, but he reared back and roared at me. I grabbed his side, and what I saw was an aerial view of this part of the forest. It was a giant scar of brown and black, dirt and ashes. Hei Bai grabbed all of the Fire Nation troops, and hurled them across the forest. He kept on raging though, and Zuko leapt in front of me with his swords drawn, but I held him back. I then climbed to the top of a burned tree, and hurled myself from the remaining branches, landing on Hei Bai's neck. I climbed higher, but it was hard to do with the spirit thrashing about. Zuko was shouting at me from below, but I couldn't make out what he was saying. I reached the top of Hei Bai's head, almost fainting from exhaustion. I crawled to a spot on his forehead where there were two white dots. I placed my hands on those dots, pouring my happy memories into the spirit. My eyes were closed in concentration, but I could feel the thrashing receding. I kept holding on, though, until instead of rough skin I felt warm fur. I opened my eyes, smiling at the panda bear as he lowered his head so I could get down. I leapt to the ground, and I hugged the bear before he walked away.

* * *

As Zuko and I were running, we heard a tremendous roar coming from behind us. We turned around in time to see a beam of energy shoot into the sky, followed by terrified human screams and another roar.  
"We should run," Zuko said calmly.  
"Agreed."  
We ran into the forest, deep into the thick of the trees, with no intended destination. We ran for what felt like hours. As we were running, I felt something, like the feeling you get when you know that someone is watching you. I threw out my arms and shouted, "Stop!" I looked all around me into the trees, and he appeared. It was a man in Zuko's Blue Spirit outfit. I knew it must have been the Blue Spirit, the real one. I looked into his eyes, and he looked into mine. Like that, I knew that I was the only one who could see him. He beckoned me foreword, and I followed. Zuko was eyeing my warily, but he followed as well. We walked farther into the forest, until night was approaching like wildfire. Finally, we reached a clearing, a field near a village. The man faded away, and Zuko set up camp.  
"How did you know where to go?" he asked me.  
"There was a Blue Spirit before you came along, Zuko," was all I said. Behind us, the leaves began rustling. Too tired to move, we stayed where we were, but Zuko's hands were aflame. The leaves parted, revealing a tired looking Iroh.  
"Finally, a place to rest," he said. He sat down next to us and almost immediately fell asleep. Night had come long ago, and it wasn't long before both Zuko and I had drifted off.

* * *

_I was in a bright flowery field, the sun shining at mid day. This field was a place from my childhood, a place where my father would take me on special days. He would wait until the stars came out, and light a campfire in the middle of the field. The fire and the stars would illuminate the flowers in just such a way that it would give you a feeling of hope, of peace._  
_"I walked to the spot where we always set up a campfire, and the Blue Spirit was there. He looked at me, and I looked back. Then his face changed, and it was my father. _  
_"Dear daughter, how much you've grown since I've been gone," he said, smiling at me. I was speechless, but I ran up to him and hugged him. He looked at me, his gaze saddening. "Ah, now time for explanations," he said. _  
_"Yes. Definitely in need of those," I replied hastily. He sighed._  
_"You know that story that I told you when you were little, the one about how spirits could become earthly beings?" Father asked._  
_"Yes…" I replied, questioning this topic._  
_"Well, I am a spirit. The Blue Spirit, as I guess you've already discovered," he said. "I chose to become an earthly being, and when I did, I fell in love and had you. That is why you can see spirits," he concluded. _  
_"I can see spirits… because I'm a half spirit?" I asked thoughtfully. _  
_"I guess you can see it like that. Being a half spirit means that you have many abilities that normal people don't; you can communicate with, and in some cases control spirits, you can see what is happening anywhere in the world. You can see things that others could only dream of. You have the ability to realize things that most people neglect to believe," he explained. As I was listening to this, I felt relieved to have an explanation for these things. I was grateful to my father, but I really missed him, and now that I know that he's still out there (in a way) I just miss him even more. And now to learn that I'm not the normal person that I always thought I was, well… my heart felt like it was going to break. "It is time for you to separate with the Prince, Lena. You will meet him again, I'm sure, but for now your destinies must part ways," my father said. Then, he sighed and hung his head and said, "I must go. I will talk to you again. Oh, one more thing; the water is not to be feared," he said. Then, my vision faded to black, and I returned to a dreamless sleep._

* * *

Iroh was staring at me when I awoke.  
"Yes?" I said calmly.  
"I can see that your father has visited you, and told you of your abilities," he replied. "I also have seen that for now, our paths must separate. We all have our own destinies, and they must be made" I didn't want to go, but I knew it was pointless to argue. Zuko, apparently, had gone off into the village. He had left me a set of clothes that looked very expensive, and had stalked off somewhere else. The clothes were a shimmering gold, with tinted pink flowers very much like the ones from the forest. I'd accepted the gift gratefully and hugged Zuko before he once again disappeared. Iroh had told him what he had told me, and had prepared me a large amount of food and tea for my journey. I looked at him one more time before I walked off to start my journey, towards the rising morning sun.

* * *

**(A/N) Uncle knows all. Thank you for reading, and please review. I am wondering whether I should post the sequel-in-progress, please give advice. Also, did I make Zuko socially-awkward enough? That bothered me.**

**Note: I am fairly certain that when I wrote this story, I found the Chinese pronunciation for Aunt or something close to that was Oba. **


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